Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow met with Boston on Monday to discuss the team’s offseason. MLBTR has retweeted Breslow’s note Lucas Giolito and Riki Saakirespectively. Additional comments from Breslow were reported by MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Most notably, the Congressional Budget Office refuted trade rumors surrounding the first baseman Triston Casas. “I’m not entirely sure where it comes from. We’re not going shopping in Triston,” Breslow said. “We think he’s a guy who can play center long-term in Boston. I’ve seen some speculation as to which deals may or may not exist, or which deals may or may not have been proposed, but nothing close. We certainly wouldn’t buy him.“
Reports generally suggest the Red Sox are open to trading Casas, but there is no suggestion they are actively trying to move him. This scenario is most prevalent when trying to reach a deal with Seattle to get a controllable starter. The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divesh and Adam Jude reported during the winter meetings that the Mariners rebuffed the Red Sox’s interest in trading Casas for a young starter like that. Brian Wu or Bryce Miller. Boston seems to have lost interest in Casas Luis Castillo frame. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote last week that the Red Sox want Seattle to challenge for an underwater game Masataka Yoshida Sign a contract in this case.
Regardless, it seems increasingly likely that Casas will remain with the Red Sox next season. Boston has been added Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler to an already included rotation Brian Bello, tanner hawk and Kurt Crawford. Giolito is working toward an Opening Day return after stent surgery. That leaves the Red Sox with at least six viable starters, and Cooper Criswell and Richard Fitts Existing depth options. Garrett Whitlock He will likely return to the bullpen once he recovers from his own elbow surgery.
While the rotation may no longer be a priority, Breslow highlighted two areas of long-term target: right-handed bats and the bullpen. They made progress in the latter area and introduced Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson to strengthen the left side. whitlock and Liam Hendricks Can play alongside second-year pitchers Justin Slaten In the last few innings. Whitlock, Hendrix and Wilson all raised some questions about durability. Chapman’s aimless direction makes him a wild card. Slatten is just one season away from being drafted into Rule 5 and may be the team’s safest reliever.
Relief pitching is difficult to predict, and the Red Sox bullpen is more inconsistent than most competitors. While there’s considerable upside, Breslow said it wouldn’t be surprising if they would look for another addition. The free agent relief market has seen little change. There are only three relievers—— Clay Holmes, Blake Trenin and Yimi Garcia – Signed multi-year agreement. Holmes will serve as the starter after signing a three-year deal with the Mets. chapman and Nick Martinez (accepted a qualifying offer from Cincinnati) is the only other reliever to sign with more than $10MM guaranteed.
The slow-developing replacement market reflects, in part, a weaker-than-average free agent pool. However, the top two relievers, Tanner Scott and Jeff Hoffmanremaining unsigned into the new year. Carlos Estevez, Kirby Yates, AJ Minter and David Robertson There are other relievers who have yet to be signed. Ryan Helsley is the top prospect on the trade market, although the Cardinals seem more willing to keep him until the deadline.
In contrast to the bullpen, Boston has not taken any action with right-handed hitters other than swapping backup catchers. Carlos Narvaez. red sox lose Tyler O’Neal Coming from a group that is already very left-handed. Breslow reiterates Red Sox hope from ‘The right-handed bat comes out of the middle of the lineup.”. He left open the possibility of internal improvements but noted that “Of course, I also participated in conversations with players who have not yet joined the organization.”.
Top free agents remaining, right-click infielder Alex Bregmanhas been linked to the Red Sox in recent weeks. When asked if the Red Sox were still involved with Bregman, Breslow pointed to the need for right-handed hitting in general. “As you might imagine, I won’t talk about specific pursuits. I can say that a right-handed bat that we think could play well in our park is certainly of interest to us, and we’re still working on it on a number of fronts.“
Breslow adds Red Sox not planning to move Raphael Devers Stay away from hot corners. That doesn’t rule out Bregman, who would be a huge upgrade to Boston’s internal options at second base (i.e. Vaughan Gleeson, david hamilton, Romy Gonzalez). switch outfielder Anthony Santander and Jurikson Profal These are all speculative possibilities. Pete Alonso Probably the best unsigned right-handed hitter, but unless the Red Sox trade Casas or can offload a large portion of Yoshida’s contract, he’ll have a hard time fitting into the lineup.
